National Park Service Hovers Over Veterans With "Essential" and Expensive Helicopter

Katie Pavlich

10/14/2013 8:58:00 AM - Katie Pavlich

Sunday, hundreds of veterans descended upon Washington D.C. to protest the barricading of open air memorials on the National Mall. Memorials were barricaded by the Obama administration, citing the government shutdown. Yesterday, the barricades were stormed, taken down and then carried by veterans to the White House, where they were left outside the gate on the front lawn.

It costs around $15,000 per hour to keep a helicopter in the air. As a reminder, the government is still shutdown and "non-essential" services are still unavailable. Apparently monitoring veterans with a helicopter is an "essential" function.